The invention relates to a water-cooled internal combustion engine with direct fuel injection and in which the cylinders are arranged in banks forming the shape of a V, the V-space between the cylinder banks being adapted as a receiving chamber for combustion air and for the accommodation of means for fuel injection by individual pumps associated with each cylinder.
In known internal combustion engines of this kind it is customary to provide two camshafts which are arranged on that side of each cylinder bank which is remote from the V-space between the cylinder banks. The individually associated injection pumps which are driven by the camshafts are then arranged in such a way that their axes extend substantially parallel to the respectively associated cylinder axes. The push rods for valve actuation are arranged between the individual injection pumps and actuate the valves through upper rocker levers.
This known arrangement has the drawback that the two camshafts, due to their being mounted laterally beside the cylinders and the correspondingly appropriate arrangement of the injection pumps and valve drive mechanism, extend substantially the overall width dimensions of the engine and also increase production costs. Furthermore, due to the fact that for good drive transmission the camshafts must be arranged comparatively near to the crankshaft which drives them, the valve push rods must be longer, which naturally has an adverse effect on the positiveness and accuracy of the valve actuation.